Crawford, who was black, was fatally shot on Aug. 5 at a Wal-Mart in the Dayton suburb of Beavercreek. The two officers involved are white.

In her letter Reece evokes both the recent problems in Ferguson, Mo., and the 2001 shooting in Cincinnati that sparked riots.

"I am deeply concerned that information has not been released within a time-frame that inspires confidence -- particularly within the African-American community," she wrote. "To be blunt, there is no reasonable reason that a copy of surveillance video(s) and communications between the store and officers shouldn't be released."

DeWine, a Republican who is up for re-election this year, has declined to release store surveillance video of the shooting to the public, saying that could compromise the investigation.

"To put the video out on TV and let it be played, I think is not the right thing to do," DeWine said ealier. "It's one of the chief pieces of evidence in this case. To put that out I think would be irresponsible and something people would regret later on."

Officers said they shot Crawford because he didn't respond to orders to drop an air rifle. His family says the shooting wasn't justified.

Wright says Stewart assured them the Justice Department is monitoring and assisting Ohio's investigation and will independently determine the merits of any potential federal prosecution. But Wright says the family still hopes federal authorities will take over the state's investigation.

A spokesman confirmed federal authorities are closely monitoring the situation.

What Reece Wrote

Here is the text of State Rep. Alecia Reece's letter:

Dear Attorney General Mike DeWine,

I write to you today in response to the recent fatal shooting of 21-year-old John Crawford, III and the subsequent lack of transparency in the release of information about the shooting. As a State Representative, elected President of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, and an ordinary citizen, I am deep­ly concerned that information has not been released within a time-frame that inspires confidence – particularly within the African-American commu­nity. To be blunt, there is no reasonable reason that a copy of surveillance video(s) and communications between the store and officers shouldn't be released.

While every shooting involving law enforcement is unique, we have been reminded in overwhelming fashion by the events transpiring in Ferguson, MO that there are too many of these shootings involve young, African-American men being shot. But the frequency in which these shootings occur does not mean these matters should be considered ordinary or routine, and certainly expected. To the contrary, these events must be treated with the utmost care, with transparency and fairness to the victims.

During my time as Vice Mayor of Cincinnati, I dealt with a similar situation when 19-year-old Timothy Thomas was shot and killed by a Cincinnati Police officer. While Cincinnati now has one of the models for better police community relations, lessons from that tragedy and those that we are wit­nessing in real time can only lead to one conclusion – transparency and early release of information is the only way to keep confidence in the pro­cess. Moreover, we can think of no reason that release of this information would compromise anyone or anything for purposes of your office's inves­tigation.

As long as our local, city, and state officials use outdated strategies of dealing with people and the common methods of delay, there will be no confi­dence that justice is being served. Thank you in advance for your timely consideration of this request. I hope you keep in mind the voices of the fami­lies and communities that are affected by this tragedy.